FENCE RULES – BILOXI (CITY), MISSISSIPPI

OVERVIEW

Residential fences are permitted on private property within City of Biloxi, subject to local regulations. For properties located outside City of Biloxi municipal limits, Harrison County regulates fences in unincorporated areas.

Local fence requirements for the City of Biloxi appear primarily in Section 23-6-7, Fences and Walls, of the Land Development Ordinance; related sight-triangle, swimming-pool, historic-overlay, floodplain, stormwater, and public-right-of-way provisions; the locally adopted 2024 International Residential Code; and the City’s Fence Permit Application. The City of Biloxi Community Development Department administers planning, zoning, building permits, inspections, code enforcement, floodplain management, and historic preservation.

This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s adopted code or ordinance materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the code does not specify one. If no local code or ordinance is available in the approved source packet, this page notes that the jurisdiction does not publish the relevant standard in the referenced published materials.

Compiled From the City of Biloxi Land Development Ordinance, including Section 23-6-7 and related provisions; City of Biloxi Code of Ordinances, Supplement No. 62; City of Biloxi Community Development Department; Fence Permit Application dated March 2025; Certificate of Appropriateness application revised March 2025; 2024 International Residential Code Section R105.2; 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code; City-accepted Erosion Control, Sediment Control and Stormwater Management handbook; Mississippi Department of Marine Resources wetlands-permitting materials; and Mississippi Damage Prevention Law / Mississippi 811 as of July 2026.

GOVERNANCE

The City of Biloxi Community Development Department oversees development review through its planning, zoning, building-permit, inspection, code-enforcement, floodplain-management, and historic-preservation functions. Core residential fence standards are concentrated in Land Development Ordinance Section 23-6-7, with related requirements in the driveway and street-intersection sight-triangle provisions, accessory swimming-pool standards, historic-overlay procedures, the floodplain ordinance, the Stormwater Management Ordinance, and the Code of Ordinances.

The City locally adopts and administers the 2024 International Building Code, the 2024 International Residential Code, and the 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code. The published local residential-code amendments do not amend the fence provision in IRC Section R105.2. The City’s Mississippi construction-code posture for this page is Locally Adopted and Administered Code. The State Fire Marshal’s limited statutory jurisdiction is not the ordinary one- and two-family residential fence-permit system for the City.

The Director of Community Development administers development review under the Land Development Ordinance. The Director of Engineering reviews requests to place fences in utility easements. The Architectural and Historical Review Commission and Community Development staff administer Certificates of Appropriateness for covered work in an Architectural/Historic Overlay District. The City’s fence application also routes proposals through zoning, setback, flood-zone, floodway, historic-review, and Planning Commission determinations as applicable.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

• Fence Permit Application: The City of Biloxi Community Development Department publishes a dedicated Fence Permit Application for proposed fence work. The application requests the fence height, length, gate sizes, location on the property, estimated cost, and owner and contractor information. Planning staff fields address zoning, setbacks, flood-zone and floodway status, and whether an AHRC hearing or Planning Commission hearing is required.

• Building-Code Permit Context: The City locally administers the 2024 International Residential Code. Section R105.2 states that permits are not required for fences not over 7 feet high. The City’s published local amendments do not change that provision. The 7-foot exemption is building-code permit context; it is not a zoning height allowance and does not remove the City’s separate fence-application, zoning, visibility, easement, historic, floodplain, drainage, coastal-wetlands, or private-restriction requirements.

• Historic-Overlay Approval: Unless exempted by the Land Development Ordinance, a Certificate of Appropriateness is required before issuance of a Certificate of Zoning Compliance for the erection, construction, exterior alteration, restoration, moving, relocation, or demolition of a fence or wall on property in an Architectural/Historic Overlay District. The City’s current Certificate of Appropriateness application is administered through the Community Development Department and the Architectural and Historical Review Commission as applicable.

• Floodplain Development Permit: A development permit is required before development activities begin in a mapped Special Flood Hazard Area. The fence application includes flood-zone and floodway review. The floodplain ordinance defines an obstruction to include a fence in, along, across, or projecting into a watercourse where it may alter or impede flow, change flow direction or velocity, collect debris, or be carried downstream.

• Stormwater and Land Disturbance: The City of Biloxi Stormwater Management Ordinance requires stormwater best management practices before covered land-disturbance activities and identifies the Erosion Control, Sediment Control and Stormwater Management on Construction Sites and Urban Areas handbook as an accepted technical reference. When fence work is part of a covered grading, site-development, or larger land-disturbance project, SWPPP and state-permit requirements apply according to the acreage and common-plan provisions in Chapter 16.5.

• Coastal Wetlands: Fence-related excavation, clearing, fill, access work, or placement in coastal wetlands, marshes, tidal areas, waterways, or submerged lands may require review or authorization from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. This coastal-wetlands layer is site-specific and is not an ordinary fence permit for an established upland residential lot.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Property Lines: The Land Development Ordinance does not state a setback requirement for standard residential fences from property lines; however, fences must be located entirely on the owner’s property and must not encroach into rights-of-way or easements.

• Utility Easements: Fences are prohibited within utility easements unless the Director of Engineering approves the location after finding that the fence will not impede the purpose or function of the easement. The City is not responsible for damage to, removal of, repair of, or replacement of a fence that must be removed to access the easement.

• Public Rights-of-Way: A fence or wall located within 15 feet of a public right-of-way must be located outside the right-of-way. On the specified portions of U.S. Highway 90, West and East Beach Boulevard, and Myrtle Street described in the Code of Ordinances, a fence or other obstruction may not be placed on the street area without City permission.

• Natural Drainage: No fence may be installed so as to block or divert a natural drainage flow onto or off another property. Fences and walls within perimeter or riparian buffers must be installed without disturbing or damaging existing or required vegetation.

• Fire Hydrants: A fence or wall may not be located where it would prevent the immediate view of, or access to, a fire hydrant or other firefighting water-supply device.

• Driveway Sight Triangles: Where a driveway intersects a local, collector, or arterial street, unobstructed visibility must be maintained between 3 feet and 7 feet above roadway grade. The triangle extends 15 feet along the driveway behind the curb or pavement edge and 30 feet along the roadway. A fence, wall, hedge, shrub, earthwork, or other obstruction may not occupy the protected visibility area.

• Street-Intersection Sight Triangles: At street intersections, unobstructed visibility must be maintained between 3 feet and 7 feet above roadway grade within a 30-foot by 30-foot triangle measured along the intersecting curb or pavement lines. Fences, walls, hedges, shrubs, earthworks, and other obstructions are restricted within this area.

• Floodplain and Watercourses: Fence placement in a Special Flood Hazard Area is subject to the local floodplain-development process. A fence in, along, across, or projecting into a watercourse may be treated as an obstruction when its location or characteristics interfere with floodwater flow or collect debris.

• Pool-Enclosure Placement: For an accessory swimming pool, spa, or hot tub, the protective fence or barrier enclosure may not be closer than 3 feet from the property line. The Land Development Ordinance also requires walking space between the pool wall and the protective enclosure on at least two sides or 50 percent of the pool exterior, whichever is greater.

• Utility Safety: Mississippi law requires notice through Mississippi 811 before excavation where the Mississippi Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act applies. For fence projects that involve digging, including digging, drilling, augering, boring, grading, or other movement of earth, notice generally must be given at least three full working days before excavation begins. Mississippi 811 is a notification center and does not mark lines itself; member utilities or their locators mark covered facilities, and the excavator must check the positive-response status before beginning work where required. This statewide utility-notice framework is separate from local fence permitting, zoning, development approval, easement limits, right-of-way approvals, floodplain review, stormwater review, drainage review, historic or design review, HOA restrictions, and other applicable requirements.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

• Front-Yard Height: In agricultural and residential zoning districts, a fence or wall may not exceed 4 feet in a front yard or in the portion of a corner side yard located between the side-street right-of-way and the side of the structure.

• Side- and Rear-Yard Height: In agricultural and residential zoning districts, a fence or wall may not exceed 8 feet in a side or rear yard. Fence and wall heights are measured from natural grade.

• Building-Permit Exemption Is Not a Height Limit: The 7-foot exemption in the adopted 2024 International Residential Code is building-permit context and is not the City’s maximum permitted fence height. The Land Development Ordinance allows a residential side- or rear-yard fence up to 8 feet, subject to the other local requirements.

• Sight-Triangle Height: Required driveway and street-intersection sight triangles must remain unobstructed between 3 feet and 7 feet above roadway grade. The Land Development Ordinance also states that fencing, berms, walls, and landscaping features may not exceed 3 feet above grade within required sight triangles.

• Fences on Walls or Berms: If a fence is constructed on top of a wall or berm, the combined height of the fence and the wall or berm may not exceed the maximum height that would apply to the fence or wall alone.

• Pool-Barrier Minimum: The area containing an accessory swimming pool, spa, or hot tub must be enclosed by a fence at least 4 feet high unless the Land Development Ordinance allows the stated lockable-cover alternative for a spa or hot tub. The adopted 2024 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code also applies to a fence used as a regulated pool or spa barrier.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• Customary Materials: Fences and walls may be constructed from combinations of treated wood posts and planks, rot-resistant wood such as cypress or redwood, wrought iron, decorative metal, chain link, brick, stone, masonry, or products designed to resemble those materials, subject to the location-specific restrictions below.

• Fences Near Public Rights-of-Way: A perimeter fence or wall within 15 feet of a public right-of-way must be of a uniform style and constructed of brick, stone, concrete covered with stucco or a similar finish, vinyl, or vertical wooden boards. The fence or wall plane must include breaks, offsets, access points, or other design details at least every 200 feet.

• Finished Side: When one side appears more finished than the other, the more finished side must face the portion of the lot that fronts or is otherwise exposed to a City street or right-of-way. Between two private properties, the owner submitting the fence application may choose which direction the finished side faces.

• Uniformity Along a Lot Side: Fence or wall segments along a single lot side must use a uniform style and colors compatible with the other fence segments and associated buildings.

• Landscape Screening Near Streets: Chain-link fences and fences or walls exceeding 4 feet in height within 15 feet of a public street right-of-way require landscape screening. For a fence in a single-family residential zoning district, this screening requirement applies when the fence is within 15 feet of an arterial or collector street right-of-way.

• Barbed, Concertina, and Electric Fences: Barbed-wire, concertina-wire, and aboveground electrified fences are prohibited unless used with agricultural activities or allowed through an approved security plan. Underground electric fences designed to control domestic animals are allowed.

• Prohibited Improvised Materials: Fences and walls made from debris, junk, rolled plastic, sheet metal, plywood, or waste materials are prohibited unless the material has been recycled and reprocessed for sale as a building material resembling a new building product.

• Pool Gates and Covers: A fence enclosing an accessory swimming pool, spa, or hot tub must have a gate that can be securely fastened. In place of fencing for a spa or hot tub, the Land Development Ordinance allows a lockable cover capable of supporting at least 150 pounds, with the cover locked when the spa or hot tub is not in use.

• Maintenance: Fences, walls, and associated landscaping must be maintained in good repair and in a safe and attractive condition, including repair or replacement of missing, decayed, or broken structural and decorative elements.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Private restrictions operate independently from City fence rules. These may include HOA covenants, subdivision restrictions, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, utility or drainage easements, conservation easements, agricultural agreements, and private boundary agreements.

A private restriction may impose a lower height, different material, additional setback, design-review requirement, or other limitation even when a fence complies with the City of Biloxi Land Development Ordinance. The City does not monitor or enforce private covenants and restrictions. The floodplain ordinance also preserves existing easements, covenants, and deed restrictions, with the more restrictive applicable provision controlling where requirements overlap.

REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT

Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:

• Fence Application and Building-Code Context: Whether the proposed work has been submitted through the City’s fence application process and whether the adopted 2024 International Residential Code exemption for fences not over 7 feet applies to building-code permit review.

• Yard-Based Height: Whether a residential fence exceeds 4 feet in a front yard or covered corner side-yard area, or exceeds 8 feet in a side or rear yard.

• Property Lines, Easements, and Drainage: Whether the fence is located on the correct private-property boundary, enters a utility easement without Director of Engineering approval, or blocks or diverts natural drainage.

• Visibility and Fire Access: Whether the fence interferes with a required driveway or street-intersection sight triangle or prevents immediate view of or access to a fire hydrant or other firefighting water-supply device.

• Right-of-Way and Appearance Standards: Whether a fence within 15 feet of a public right-of-way remains outside the right-of-way and satisfies the applicable material, uniform-style, design-break, finished-side, and landscape-screening requirements.

• Historic Review: Whether the property is within an Architectural/Historic Overlay District and the fence or wall requires a Certificate of Appropriateness before zoning compliance and construction approval.

• Floodplain, Stormwater, and Coastal Conditions: Whether the fence is in a Special Flood Hazard Area or watercourse, forms part of a covered land-disturbance project, or involves work in coastal wetlands requiring review by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

• Materials, Pool Barriers, and Maintenance: Whether prohibited wire or improvised materials are proposed, whether a pool or spa enclosure meets the 4-foot minimum and secure-gate requirements, and whether the fence and associated landscaping remain in good repair.

• Private Restrictions: Whether HOA covenants, deed restrictions, subdivision controls, easements, or other private agreements impose additional limitations.

• Utility Safety: Whether the project involves digging, drilling, augering, boring, grading, or other excavation requiring Mississippi 811 notice and positive-response review.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within City of Biloxi, based on the referenced published materials as of July 2026.

In addition to local fence rules, certain Mississippi laws apply statewide. See Statewide fence laws in Mississippi.

It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, zoning approvals, zoning certifications, development approvals, locally adopted building codes, surveys, or professional guidance. Rules and interpretations may change, and application may vary based on zoning district, site conditions, easements, rights-of-way, floodplain status, stormwater requirements, drainage conditions, historic district status, design-review status, rural or agricultural context, livestock or party-fence context, local building-code administration, adopted-code status, opt-out status, pool-barrier use, Mississippi 811 utility-safety requirements, coastal wetlands conditions, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants, deed restrictions, private agreements, or conservation easements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with the City of Biloxi Community Development Department and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from City of Biloxi staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.